India, July 31 -- Nearly 17 years after a blast claimed six lives and injured over 100 people in the communally sensitive town of Malegaon in Maharashtra, a special NIA court pronounced its verdict in the case on Thursday.

The National Investigation Agency court has acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, including Bharatiya Janata Party's former MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, lieutenant colonel Prasad Purohit, and five others.

They were tried under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni were the other accused in the case.

The NIA, which conducted the pro...